Mikro Kavouri, Attiki

Mikro Kavouri, Attiki, originally uploaded by Demetrios Georgalas aka brexians.

Vouliagmeni is a beautiful and picturesque peninsula, situated on the eastern edge of Athens (just 20 Km from the center of Athens), known from the famous lake with the mineral water spa and an outstanding mild climate that makes all-year round holidays possible.

SALERS

SALERS, originally uploaded by pik45.

Salers (French pronunciation: ​[saˈlɛʁ], Occitan: Salèrn) is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France.
It is famous for the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) cheeses Cantal and Salers. It is also famous for the Salers breed of cattle that originated in this commune.
It was pillaged by Rodrigo de Villandrando in the late 1430s, during the final phase of the Hundred Years' War.

spring day @ #Vouliagmeni, #Attiki, #Greece

spring day @ #Vouliagmeni, #Attiki, #Greece, originally uploaded by Demetrios Georgalas aka brexians.

The Mikro Kavouri is connected to the mainland with a narrow, sandy isthmus commonly referred to as "Laimos" (, i.e. the "Neck"), flanked by one public beach one one side and Astir Palace beach on the other side. The Megalo Kavouri is land largely owned by the Church of Greece, which maintains an enclosed, protected pine forest and an orphanage. An air force camp is also located there. Dotted with lavish villas, the two Kavouri areas are among the most expensive pieces of housing real estate in Greece.

Crete Incredible Hospitality

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Baku - Azerbeidzjan

Baku - Azerbeidzjan, originally uploaded by Rita Willaert.

Until 1988 Baku had very large Russian, Armenian, and Jewish populations which contributed to cultural diversity and added in various ways (music, literature, architecture and progressive outlook) to Baku's history. With the onset of the Karabakh War and the pogrom against Armenians starting in January 1990, the city's large Armenian population was expelled.
Under Communism, the Soviets took over the majority of Jewish property in Baku and Kuba. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev returned several synagogues and a Jewish college, nationalized by the Soviets, to the Jewish community. He encouraged the restoration of these buildings and was well liked by the Jews of Azerbaijan. Renovation has begun on seven of the original 11 synagogues, including the Gilah synagogue, built in 1896, and the large Kruei Synagogue.

Athinios port #Santorini #Greece

Santoryn - Athinios port.253, originally uploaded by heodes.

ATHINIOS – “OUT OF CHAOS COMES ORDER”

There you are on the ferry, steaming to the island of Santorini, and as you enter the inner ring of the old volcano of Santorini, you pass the cliff villages of Oia, and Fira, with their majestic white structures, seemly precariously perched on the cliff faces like a haphazard collection of giant white and blue LEGGO buildings placed by a giants hand.

Still not seeing your destination, you sail on past the volcano itself, and not until the ferry turns to reverse into the Athinios port do you finally see your disembarkation destination, Athinios. The Athinios port is ringed by steep multi colored shear volcanic cliffs, and the first question that pops into everyone’s mind is “how do I get up to the top?”.

As the ferry settles into her moorings and the ship stewards give the signal for the passengers to disembark, do you finally get a close up look at Athinios. Athinios maybe small in comparison to the major villages of the rest of the island, but on any given day during the season it is Santorini’s “ambassador” and as such meets, greets and delivers up and down the cliffs a hundred thousand visitors everyday.
By first impressions of Athinios, Athinios is one of chaos, as you jostle to move off the ferry, you are greeted by the hotel, pension, and room owners barking, “need a room”, followed closely by the car rental groups trying to out shout the hotel and pension group, “need a car” and mixed into this canopy of noise is the port police, blowing his whistle trying to keep order, and allow the lorries and cars that are also trying to disembark to move through the throngs of people without anyone getting their toes run over. During this you ask yourself “how do I get out of here?” and surprisingly within a matter of 30 minutes everyone has been accommodated, loaded onto buses, or rented a car and disappeared up the cliff road to the top to spend their time experiencing the island, but wait, you have missed the jewel of the island, Athinios port itself.

It is only when you are all finished seeing and doing your holiday routine on the rest of the island is it that you return to Athinios port to catch your ferry back to the mainland. Then and only then does one take the time to find out about the hidden jewel, with its authentic and quaint restaurants, little alleyways that lead to hidden shops selling local wines and other unique bric bac, along with taking the time to stop and chat with some of the local colorful people who inhabit the port and call it their home.

From one end of the port of Athinios to the other, the holidayer, can relax under the cool shade of an umbrella of a restaurant, find a quite little alley with it’s benches in the shade of an adjoining building and relax, play a game with the children, or just plain have a wee nap. It is only now that one can see all the local color of the people and businesses that inhabit the port, and really take the time to see why Athinios is the “Lady Ambassador” of Santorini – the hidden jewel of Santorini.

Blaven, Skye

Blaven, Skye, originally uploaded by bingleyman2.

Blà Bheinn (also known as Blaven), is a mountain on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It is usually regarded as an outlier to the Black Cuillin. It is mainly composed of gabbro, a rock with excellent grip for mountaineers and scramblers. The name "Blà Bheinn" is thought to mean "blue mountain", from a combination of Norse and Gaelic. Whereas blå in Modern Norwegian means "blue", the Old Norse word blá could, however, also refer to the colours blue-black and black.
The normal route of ascent for walkers is from the east. A path leaves the B8083 on the shores of Loch Slapin about 4 km after the village of Torrin. The path follows a burn, the Allt na Dunachie, into the corrie of Coire Uaigneich. From here a short steep route along the ridge leads to the summit. A small amount of scrambling is needed to reach the true top of the mountain.
Alternative routes follow the south ridge, or come from the north having traversed the Clach Glas ridge which links to the Red Cuillin peaks.
The view from the summit is dominated by the Black Cuillin.
Blaven stands in the Strathaird Estate, owned and managed since 1994 by the John Muir Trust.

Ice Diamonds on the Black Beach in Iceland

Ice Diamonds on the Black Beach in Iceland, originally uploaded by Iurie Belegurschi ~ www.iceland-photo-tours.com.

In 1991, the American journal Islands Magazine counted this beach as one of the ten most beautiful beaches on Earth. Its stretch of black basalt sand is one of the wettest places in Iceland. The cliffs west of the beach are home to many seabirds, most notably puffins which burrow into the shallow soils during the nesting season. Offshore lie fingers of basalt rock (stacks) remnants of a once more extensive cliffline Reynisfjall now battered by the sea. There is no landmass between here and Antarctica and the Atlantic rollers can attack with full force. Folklore tells us that they are former trolls who tried to drag their boats out to sea only to be caught by the rising dawn. The sea around them is rather wild and stormy, so travelers will not be surprised to discover a monument to the memory of drowned seamen on the beach.
The village was affected by volcanic ash during the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull.

Statue of Decebalus | The Tallest Rock Sculpture in Europe

Statue of Decebalus | The Tallest Rock Sculpture in Europe, originally uploaded by Paul Biris (back from Indonesia).

The Statue of Dacian king Decebalus is a 40-m high statue that is the tallest rock sculpture in Europe. It is located on the Danube's rocky bank, near the city of Orşova, Romania. It was commissioned by Romanian businessman and historian Iosif Constantin Drăgan and it took 10 years, from 1994 to 2004, for twelve sculptors to finish it. The final cost was over one million dollars.
Under the face of Decebalus there is a Latin inscription which reads "DECEBALUS REX—DRAGAN FECIT" ("King Decebal—Made by Drăgan").
On the Serbian side facing Romania, there is an ancient memorial plaque (Tabula Traiana) commemorating the victories of the Roman Empire over the Dacian kingdom in 105.

Veroia old city!

Untitled, originally uploaded by Georgios Karamanis.

Museums in Veria include the Archaeological Museum of Veroia, the Byzantine Museum of Veroia, a museum of modern Greek history and a laographical museum. There are also 48 Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches, four Ottoman mosques, and a 19th century Jewish synagogue in the protected Jewish neighbourhood.
The Archaeological Site of Aegae / Aigai (Greek Αἰγαί; modern name Vergina), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies 12 km (7 mi) south-east of the city centre of Veria.
Every summer (August 15 to September 15) the "Imathiotika" festivities take place with a rich cultural program deriving mainly from Veria's tradition. The site of Elia offers great natural beauty and with an amazing view of the Imathia plain. Neighboring Seli is a well-known ski resort and a few kilometers outside the city is the Aliakmonas river dam.

Small stony bridge ...

Small stony bridge ... HDR, originally uploaded by Emil9497 Photography & Art.

This simple but rather unusual scenery can be found about 8 km away from Xanthi, on the road that directly connects Drama to Xanthi ... The sky was rather clear but extremely interesting as the setting sun's rays were piercing the not heavy late afternoon overcast ... The green uniform that Nature wears during this late spring period is amazing, the small creek keeps carrying fresh mountain water and the stony bridge stands still and proud above it ...

I will try with my next dozen shots or so to present to you scenes of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace's landscape .... To make you see this extremely elegant land through my eyes ...

Taverna

Taverna, originally uploaded by Kalabird.

Taverna and Cafe, of course!

The Milky Way over Greece, Aristarchos Telescope

The Milky Way over Greece, Aristarchos Telescope, originally uploaded by Alexandros Maragos.

The Milky Way over Aristarchos Telescope at the top of Chelmos Mountain in Achaia, Kalavryta, Greece, at an altitude of 2340m/7677ft. I took this shot in a moonless night (new moon) on July 18th, 2012, at midnight. The location has been measured as one of the darkest areas both in Greece and in Europe.

Karpathos Island Greece

Karpathos Island Greece, originally uploaded by Constadinos.

The island is located about 47 kilometers southwest of Rhodes, in the part of the Mediterranean which is called, after it, the Carpathian Sea (Latin: Carpathium Mare). The Sea of Crete, a sub-basin of the Mediterranean Sea, has its eastern limit defined by the island of Karpathos.
Karpathos' highest point is Mt. Lastos, at 1,215 metres (3,986 ft). Karpathos comprises 10 villages. All villages preserve intensively the traditional style of the island. In the southeast of the island you can find Pigadia (official name Karpathos), capital and main port of the island. The capital is surrounded by the villages of Menetes, Arkasa, Aperi, Volada, Othos, and Pyles. In the North one can find Mesochori, Spoa and Olymbos the last village in the North of the island, of great folkloric and architectural interest. There are two ports in the island; one is in the town of Karpathos and the other in the north of the island next to Olympos named Diafani.
The island Saria was united with Karpathos in the ancient times with an isthmus, but an earthquake divided them. Saria preserves many important antiquites, but they haven't been studied enough.

Heraion of Perachora Greece

Greece-046, originally uploaded by Pinox67.

The Heraion of Perachora (Greek: Ηραίο Περαχώρας) was a sanctuary of the goddess Hera situated in a small cove of the Corinthian gulf at the end of the Perachora peninsula. In addition to a temple of Hera of unusual construction and antiquity, the remains of a number of other structures have also been found, including a L-shaped stoa, a large cistern, dining rooms, and a second potential temple. The Sanctuary of Hera at Perchora is located 14.2 km NNW of Corinth, and 75.9 km W of Athens. Although there is debate between Argos, Megara and Corinth, the sanctuary was probably under the control of Corinth, as it faced the harbors of that powerful city across the Corinthian gulf. Cult activity at the site continued from perhaps the 9th century BCE to 146 BCE, when the Roman general Mummius sacked Corinth during the war with the Achaean League. In the Roman period, domestic structures were built on the site, indicating that the area was no longer a sanctuary. This site is significant for the study of the origins of Greek temple architecture and rural cults.